Mesopotamia was the ancient region between Tigris and Euphrates in South-West Asia, roughly corresponding to modern Iraq. It was the site of one of the earliest human civilizations, resulting from the development of irrigation in the 6th millennium BC and the extreme fertility of the irrigated land.

Sumerians settled in the lower parts of Tigris and Euphrates valley between 5000 and 4000 BC. Its seat was the city of Mesopotamia, founded by the Sumerians Babylonia gained supremacy in the 18th Century BC and was followed by others, notably the Assyrians. Later ruled by the Persians Greek and Romans, Mesopotamia gradually lost its distinctive cultural traditions.

Mesopotamia bears the stamp of clay as does no other civilization, and nowhere in the world but in Mesopotamia and the regions over which its influence was diffused was clay used as the vehicle for writing. They also created mythological and historical epics like the famous ‘Creation’ and ‘Flood Epics’. The most impressive work of the Babylonians is the ‘Epic of Gilgamesh’ containing their main myths.